Holt's work inVietnamVietnam
began in 1973

In 2017, Holt sponsors and donors provided critical assistance to more than 3,922 children and families in Vietnam.

Over more than four decades since the Vietnam War, political reforms, modernization and movement toward a market economy have dramatically changed life in Vietnam. But while reform has led to greater prosperity in many parts of the country, it has also caused a greater disparity of living standards between rich and poor, rural and urban, and ethnic majority and minority families. As rural families migrate to urban areas in search of a better life, children face a greater risk of family separation, trafficking and exploitation, abuse and neglect. High rates of HIV/AIDS, insufficient services for children with special needs, and the recurring stigma of unwed motherhood also threaten the strength and stability of children and families in Vietnam. Together with you, we strive to ensure every orphaned, homeless or vulnerable child in Vietnam can grow and thrive in the love of a family — and one day, reach their full potential in life.

Family Strengthening Programs

From Hanoi in the far north to the far southern provinces of Binh Duong and Dong Nai, Holt sponsors and donors empower children and families across Vietnam with the tools and resources they need to grow strong, stable and independent. They help single mothers care for their children. They help struggling families earn a stable income. And through education, they help children reach for their dreams.

Education

Officially, primary school education in Vietnam is free of charge. But at the beginning of every school year, families throughout Vietnam face anywhere between $75 to $200 in fees for their child to attend primary or secondary school. These include building fees, maintenance fees, teacher fees and other academic fees. Add to that the cost of books, uniforms and school supplies, and even some middle-income families struggle to cover the cost to send their children to school. For families living in poverty — especially families with multiple school-age children — the total cost to educate every one of their children is often too steep to pay. In rural areas especially, many families will choose to send just one child to school and keep their other children home to help work on the farm. But in five provinces of Vietnam, children in educational sponsorship receive everything they need to stay in school through graduation — including books, supplies, uniforms and fees. On a case-by-case basis, Holt donors also provide scholarships for high-performing students to attend college — empowering them to lift themselves, their families and their communities out of poverty for good.

Special Education

Several provinces in Vietnam have much higher-than-average rates of children with special medical and developmental needs. These provinces are the same provinces that, during the Vietnam War, were most heavily sprayed with Agent Orange — a chemical defoliant now known to be tied to at least a dozen health conditions, including birth defects. But throughout Vietnam, limited resources are available for children with special needs and their families — especially in rural areas. Very few communities offer special education programs, and the few private, tuition-based programs available are often out of reach for low-income families. But in one rural community in central Vietnam, sponsors and donors have made it possible for over 100 children to attend the Kianh Foundation Center — the first and only school in the area for children with special needs. At this school, children receive an education designed to build their confidence, strengthen their skills and help them reach their full potential — including holding jobs and actively contributing to their community. With support from Holt donors, our partners at Kianh Foundation are now working to expand the center, and one day replicate this special education model throughout Vietnam.

Preschool

When parents in Vietnam can't afford to send their young children to school, they often have no option but to take them with them to work — placing them in situations with limited supervision, and sometimes exposing them to dangerous environments. Because of sponsors and donors, however, over 1,800 children in four provinces of Vietnam have a safe and enriching place to go while their parents work during the day. With donor support, many children receive nourishing meals and a critical early education that they wouldn't otherwise receive at home. And with their children in school, both parents are free to seek work outside their home — empowering them to better support their children. Since Holt began our preschool program in Vietnam, malnutrition rates have dropped among children receiving free school lunch, and many families have successfully grown their income and overall standard of living.

Nutrition

Nutrition is vital to the health and wellbeing of all children, and one of the key needs that donors and sponsors meet for children in Holt's programs in Vietnam. By making it possible for children in low-income communities to attend preschool, donors also ensure that every child receives at least one nourishing meal every day. For many parents, foods like milk and meat are too expensive to provide on a regular basis — putting their children at risk of malnutrition. But when Holt donors started supporting the preschool program, malnutrition rates dropped among children receiving free school lunch. In Vietnam, donors also provide nutritional support for women in our single mother's programs — providing formula and food to help both mom and baby thrive. One of the first countries where we implemented our child nutrition program, Vietnam has also seen significant improvements to the nutrition and feeding of children living in orphanage care.

Single Mother Support

In Vietnam, the stigma of unwed motherhood remains a serious issue, particularly in rural, impoverished communities where tradition is highly valued. Facing shame and isolation, some women feel compelled to abandon or relinquish their child to orphanage care. If they choose to parent, women will often raise their child entirely on their own — without the financial and emotional support of their families. To help support women in this predicament, Holt Vietnam provides safe shelter, counseling and prenatal care — ensuring a safe delivery of their baby, and empowering them to make an informed decision for their future. If they choose to parent, women will continue to receive support in the form of formula, food, clothing and other essentials for their newborn child. In some cases, sponsors and donors also provide resources for women to grow their income through a small business microloan or vocational training. Other women simply need help paying for daycare so they can work during the day.

Income-Generating Projects

When parents struggle to meet their children's basic needs, that's when children are most vulnerable – to losing their families, to growing up in orphanages or on the streets, to enduring the irreversible effects of malnutrition, or to falling victim to trafficking or exploitation. But with the help of sponsors and donors, parents can achieve the level of stability they need to independently care for their children — and ultimately, help their children grow and thrive. Depending on their strengths, parents may receive a microloan to start or expand a small business, or they may enroll in vocational training to learn a skilled trade. Either way, the income they will earn as a result of one sponsor or donor's generosity will empower them many times over — helping them build a better future for their family.

Orphan Care Programs

Since we first came to Vietnam in the early 1970s, Holt has sought to improve the quality of care for children growing up without a family. Working alongside local child welfare experts, we helped pioneer foster care, strengthened the health and wellbeing of children through our child nutrition program, and provided basic-but-vital support to give every child the best opportunity to grow and thrive while waiting to join a permanent, loving family. Only through the generous gifts of sponsors and donors do children in Vietnam continue to receive these vital services.

Foster Care

In the early 1970s, when Holt first came to Vietnam, our staff helped pioneer foster care as a more nurturing alternative for children living in the country's childcare institutions. Adapting the model of foster care Holt developed in Korea a decade before, our local staff recruited and trained foster families in Vietnam to provide the attentive, one-on-one care children need to reach critical developmental milestones and form healthy emotional bonds. Today, with the generous support of sponsors and donors, orphaned and homeless children in several provinces of Vietnam can grow and thrive in the love and care of a devoted foster family. Although a temporary placement, this vital care will ultimately help children form strong attachments with their adoptive family — or ease their transition back into their birth family.

Orphanage Partnerships

Holt works alongside orphanage partners in five provinces of Vietnam — providing nutritional, educational and medical support to help children grow and thrive while they wait to go home to a loving, permanent family. While some children in Vietnam can stay in the loving care of a foster family, the program is limited by the number of families equipped to provide this kind of one-on-one care. As a result, many children remain in institutional care. For these children, sponsors and donors provide the resources needed to create the best, most home-like environment possible, including a lower ratio of caregivers to children. Your generous support is vital to sustaining the health and wellbeing of children while we work to find for them a stable, loving family — either through adoption, or by rejoining their birth family once they are back on their feet.

Domestic Adoption

Before pursuing international adoption, we strive to find loving adoptive families for children in their country of birth. This is true everywhere Holt works, and is a critical part of our model of adoption. If a child truly cannot remain with or rejoin their birth family, we first seek a domestic adoptive family — giving a child the opportunity to grow up in the country and culture of their birth. Every year in Vietnam, between 15-20 children are able to go home to a loving family through in-country adoption.

Child Nutrition Program

Children living in institutional environments are far more vulnerable to malnutrition and hunger-related diseases — especially children with medical and developmental needs. That's why, beginning in 2012, Holt developed our child nutrition program for children living in orphanages in the communities you support around the world. Among the first countries our CNP team visited was Vietnam where, according to the most recent UNICEF statistic, a third of all children under age 5 are stunted due to chronic malnutrition. As everywhere, in Vietnam we worked to equip caregivers in our partnering orphanages with the tools and training they need to strengthen their nutrition and feeding practices. Caregivers learned how to track the growth of children in care to ensure they are growing at a healthy rate. They learned how to safely feed children with special needs, and they made basic dietary changes that have had a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of children in care. Since that time, and with the support of sponsors and donors, our partnering orphanages have fully implemented the program — creating institutional changes that will benefit generations of children to come.

International Adoption

Read about the children waiting for families, eligibility, fees and more.

International Adoption

Read about the children waiting for families, eligibility, fees and more.

A Message from Thoa Bui
Vice President of South and Southeast Asia

Vietnam has experienced rapid economic growth in recent years. Infrastructure in the country has been greatly improved, especially in big cities. Yet this growth leaves a wider gap among the "haves" and "have nots." While people living in urban settings benefit from improved infrastructure and earn better income compared to people living in rural areas, poverty exists in big cities when families and children struggle to keep up with rapidly rising costs of housing, transportation, food, education, etc. as people pour into cities to find jobs. People living in rural areas have limited income-earning opportunities, which contributes to the struggle of providing education and basic needs for their children. As Vietnam develops, we have seen a more relaxed attitude towards single motherhood, yet the level of stigma towards single women and children born out of wedlock is still overwhelming. Causes of abandonment and relinquishment of children include poverty, disability and unmarried pregnancy. But, with your support, we can deliver services to keep families and children together, including educational support, single mother services, foster care, support to orphanages to improve quality of care and provide permanency planning for institutionalized children, income-generating projects for struggling families, and free or low-cost daycare, including daycare for children with disabilities. Sponsorship donations keep kids in school and help entire families transform their lives and communities. The impact of your donation in Vietnam is very large, and on behalf of the children and families we serve, thank you for the work you do.